Born in Hangchow, China on April 4, 1911, Si Chen Yuan began drawing and painting at a young age. Yuan studied for several years with Péon Ju at the Central University in Nanking. During the Sino-Japanese War and WWII he worked as an artist in the cultural department for the Nationalists and as a liaison interpreter for the U.S. Air Force. While in Shanghai S.C. Yuan adopted the English name Wellington.

With the Communists taking control of the country, S.C. Yuan left China for Jamaica in 1949. The following year Yuan moved to San Francisco to work as a cook at the Fairmont Hotel. In 1952 he settled on the Monterey Peninsula where he taught Mandarin Chinese at the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio. Yuan mande several trips to Europe and Mexico while maintaining a home and studio in Carmel.

S.C. Yuan committed suicide on Sept. 6, 1974.

Working in oil and watercolor, Yuan produced still life, High Sierra snow scenes, European and Mexican scenes, harbor and beach scenes, and seascapes. His painting style submitted to occidental influence and varied from Impressionism to Abstraction.